That’s a wrap! May 2019
May has been a bit of a month-from-hell as I slogged my way towards the end of the uni semester. Nevertheless, I managed some degree of success on the reading, writing and social media-ing fronts, so read on for all the exciting details! →
May has kind of been a month from hell, with the final weeks of the uni semester and a lot going on at my work. I am SO GLAD it’s basically over now! Anyway, I’ve been up to quite a bit these last few weeks, but my key monthly “highlights” include the following:
(Almost) finishing my uni degree. People, today is officially my last day of uni classes EVER! I still have a presentation next week and an exam later in June, but I am SO CLOSE to finishing my degree!!
Updating my social media. I am (very slowly) making some updates to my Facebook page to make it a bit more interactive than it has been, and I have finally gotten around to making a Pinterest account!
Developing some terrible sleep habits. May has been a stressful month, which means I have developed some bad habits when it comes to sleep. For example, I can’t get to sleep at night so read until really late (i.e. early) and then sleep for WAY too long. I’ll need to sort myself out in the next few weeks!!
Once again, I published 2 blog posts this month, which you can check out below!
As you may be aware, I currently have 2 key writing projects: one a contemporary YA novel, and the other an epic fantasy series. My progress on these is revealed below…and you can click on each heading for more information!
Holding Up the Sky
“The weight of the sky—of the whole world—was pushing down, and it was crushing me.”
Status: Beta reading completed
Word count: 84,200
What’s new: The beta reading phase for my contemporary YA novel Holding Up the Sky is now complete! I got some fantastic (and positive!) feedback and am seriously on the verge of weeping tears of joy. Thank you so much to Lorraine, Allyson and Adina! Now it’s on to “final” edits before I actually…you know…DO something with this WIP. I’m both terrified and excited!
Blood of Old (Graceborn #1)
“The Old has returned…and what once was, will be again.”
Status: Writing 2nd draft
Word count: 63,700
What’s new: Literally half an hour before publishing this post, I FINALLY reached my goal of finishing Part 1 in the 2nd draft of Blood of Old, the first book in my fantasy series Graceborn! I’m so happy! Now I’m officially one third of the way through this version, and while it’s taken me longer than I first expected, I think I’m still on track to finish by the end of the year. So pleased with it so far!
This May, I read a total of 6 books. I finally got through the Chaos Walking trilogy which has been on my TBR for so many months, and I encountered a number of other beauties too! The books I finished this month are:
“Okay, fine, kid,” (…) finally snaps, “you want me to be your fucking sherpa? Here’s my advice: Don’t tell anyone. Go find a nice girl and marry her (…)—you can do that, and it wouldn’t even be a lie.”
And what comes out of Alex’s mouth, comes so fast he has no chance to stop it, only divert it out of English at the last second in case it’s overheard: “Sería una mentira, porque no sería él.” It would be a lie, because it wouldn’t be him.
— from Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Okay, so this quote probably won’t have the same impact on you if you haven’t read Red, White & Royal Blue, because it’s not just about the words, it’s also about the context (where Alex is, who he’s speaking to, and what’s going on—removed here to avoid spoilers). This was the moment in this AMAZING book where my near-constant laughter pretty much turned to near-constant tears. Gah! I don’t even have the words! 😂
What did you get up to this May? Did you make much progress on your writing projects? How many books did you read and what was your favourite?
Rebecca Alasdair
I'm an Australian indie author who hoards books, loves dogs and coffee, and has a tendency of staying up all night!
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Lorraine Ambers
Yay! I’m sure you’ll nail your presentation next week. Enjoy the summer, you deserve a break.
Rebecca Alasdair
Haha thank you…although it’s now unfortunately coming into winter in this side of the world and it is FREEZING!! 😂
Lorraine Ambers
Oh, 😂 silly me. Well enjoy the long nights, warm fires and chunky knits. X
Rebecca Alasdair
Oh I shall! It’s a great excuse to laze about inside! 😂
Andrew McDowell
I made some writing progress, though not as much as I would’ve liked. I also got my critique group started up again with new members. Mystical Greenwood appeared as a “guest” of women who publish a magazine called And I Thought Ladies went on the American part of their book tour (they’ll be going to England later), being gifted to their various hosts along with other guest books.
Rebecca Alasdair
Nice! That’s so cool about your book being a “guest” like that! While it can be frustrating to not make as much progress as you’d have liked, I find it’s helpful to focus on what you DID accomplish. Glass half full and all that 😊
Andrew McDowell
Thanks! Best of luck with everything!
Rebecca Alasdair
You too! 😊
May @ Forever and Everly
Ahh, congrats on almost completing your degree! That’s amazing <3 And aahh so glad to see you loved RW&RB, Radio Silence, and Picture Us in the Light! The last two are some of my favorite books and I found them so beautiful. I'm super excited to read RW&RB this month, and even though I don't know the full context of the quote you featured, I still feel like my heart has been hit a little 😭 I hope you have an amazing June!! <3
Rebecca Alasdair
There’s a lot of heart hitting in RW&RB for sure!! I really hope you enjoy it. There are so many great YA books out there these days, which has really reinvigorated my love for the genre! 😍
Kat @ Novels & Waffles
Oh my gosh, so many exciting things are happening for you! Congrats on finishing college and for completing the beta reading phase for Holding Up the Sky! I am excited that you are getting close to actually doing something with a WIP – that must be so fulfilling! Anyways, thanks for such a wonderful wrap-up 💛
Rebecca Alasdair
Thank you! It’s all both exciting and terrifying at the same time!!